By DAVID CRUZ

With the Congressional Primary set for June 24, the Norwood News spoke to the top three candidates for the 13th Congressional District over the issues miring the Bronx side of the district. Part one of this three-part series  focuses on the incumbent, Congressman Charles Rangel. 

Congressman Rangel: Holding the 13th CD for A Lifetime

In the 40 years Congressman Charles Rangel has chaired the seat in the 13th Congressional District, he’s never had to look after the Bronx. That was until two years back when congressional lines changed. And in the last two years, Rangel looks to do something he’s never done before: unify two boroughs through its consensus of shared problems.

“This one community is just separated by a river, but it’s hardly separated by the needs for affordable housing, jobs, investment, immigration,” said Rangel, in a phone interview with the Norwood News. “There’s not one problem that I can think of that’s not the same as the ones I’ve had over the years in this district.”

Congressional district unifier is a new term for Rangel, the raspy-voiced legislator who rose to become chair of the prominent House Ways and Means Committee before an ethics scandal hurt a sliver of his legacy. Rangel considers it an “asterisk” in his storied career.

As the incumbent, Rangel has since made the rounds throughout the borough, organizing job fairs, taking part in debates, and meeting with community leaders. He’s been largely criticized in the borough for not having a congressional office, a problem he intends to fix by rolling out a mobile office this year. “Now that we do have the funds to do it, the presence will be now this year, a mobile office until we can find someone with an attractive offer for office space that makes sense,” said Rangel, pegging the federal sequester as a reason for the office shortage.

As for the double-digit unemployment rate in the Bronx, Rangel sees one way to shave those numbers by building affordable housing using federal tax monies. “The most important thing is to make certain that we release the President’s opportunity to tie in education with job opportunities,” said Rangel, referencing President Obama’s Pathways Back to Work Fund.

As for offering children of illegal immigrants the chance to complete school through the federal DREAM Act, Rangel believes it’s a possibility it will be addressed during the summer so long as Tea Party Republicans remain at bay.

The Democratic Primary election is June 24, the day Rangel will either continue to seal his legacy, or be forced to hang it up come Dec. 31. Either way, Rangel admits, “There are so many things I’m proud of.”

Tomorrow: A Profile on State Sen. Adriano Espaillat